Kristi Faulkner refused to think about the pressure that comes with taking a last-second shot.
That’s not her nature, even if it was the most important shot of her basketball life. The Glenbard West senior looked as calm as a pond at dawn when she walked onto the court and into the spotlight Friday afternoon.
“You forget about everything else because you want to win so bad,” she said. “You tend to block everything out except getting the ball in the basket.”
Faulkner made it look as simple as it sounded when she nailed a short jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining to give Glenbard West a 47-45 victory against Salem in the quarterfinals of the Class AA state tournament at Redbird Arena.
The Hilltoppers (28-6) advanced to their first Final Four. They will tip off at 11:15 a.m. Saturday against Marshall, a 52-44 winner over Waubonsie Valley.
Even though Faulkner had more turnovers than field goals in the second half, everyone in the arena knew she was going to take the final shot. The only suspense was whether she would miss or make it.
“We set up (the last play) for any one of the five kids to shoot it,” Glenbard West coach Jim Pecilunas said, jokingly. “That’s one play we practice a lot.”
Faulkner took the inbounds pass on the left wing with 8 seconds left, drove to the middle and pulled up for a midrange jumper.
Swish. Game over.
“I think it’s fun,” Faulkner said of the pressure of taking a last-second shot. “It’s an opportunity to hopefully help your team come out on top.”
The Wildcats (28-3) smothered Faulkner on the final play, much like they did all game. But Faulkner, who will play for Illinois next year, delivered in the clutch.
“She’s going to make those kinds of plays,” Salem coach Janet Holst said. “She has a great career in front of her.
“She made the play when she had to. That’s why she’s going to the University of Illinois.”
Faulkner, who had a game-high 19 points, didn’t score in the second half until she made a jumper with 2:05 left in the game. She was 0 of 5 from the field with four turnovers in the half until that point.
“I was starting to get a little frustrated,” she said. “I made some mistakes and had some turnovers. But you have to forget about it and put all that behind you.”
Jessica Wilhite followed Faulkner’s advice after she committed a turnover on a questionable double-dribble call with 27 seconds left. After a timeout, Wilhite stole the ball from Shawnda Hunt, setting up Faulkner’s heroics.
“I felt like (the refs) kind of took it away from us,” Wilhite said of her turnover. “Coach told me in the timeout to put pressure on (Hunt).”
Wilhite did that throughout the game, holding Hunt to only three points. Wilhite also provided a lift offensively, scoring 12 points.
Renee Brubacker led Salem with 14 points, 10 in the second half, which enabled the Wildcats to take a brief lead.
“Up until this point, most of you probably had no idea who we were,” Holst said. “These girls can walk away with their heads held high. This isn’t a game you play every day.”
Don’t tell that to Faulkner.
